Lopes overpower Wildcats in 30-point romp

Thursday, January 16

Phoenix, Ariz.

7 p.m.

Grand Canyon

12-5,2-1WAC

Abilene Christian

8-10,0-3WAC

Abilene Christian

Grand Canyon

Phoenix, AZ Jan. 16, 2025 : The Lopes dominate ACU with a 88-58 win at Global Credit Union Arena. David Kadlubowski / GCU

Photo by: David Kadlubowski

1/16/2025 11:12:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro

Box Score Photo Gallery

Brennan's double-double, GCU's stifling defense highlight home win

By: Paul Coro

Grand Canyon head coach Bryce Drew and staff emphasized all week for the Lopes to get with the "The Program," and the Lopes proved stronger as a herd Thursday night.

GCU turned a week of team-oriented work into 40 minutes of team-balanced domination, blowing out Abilene Christian 88-58 with an effort that was a relentless storm of pressure and precision.

The Lopes (12-5, 2-1 WAC) were so stingy that the Wildcats did not make a field goal for a 10-minute stretch of the first half and so multi-faceted that five GCU players scored in double figures with 54% team shooting.

"Guys played hard," Drew said. "They complement each other well. Guys would come out. Other players would come in, and they would keep the energy right away. I loved how we shared the basketball. We were so active on the ball for 14 steals. Our guys did a great job being active in lanes and gaps and really active around the rim, contesting."

GCU set a season high for blocked shots with nine, led by a career high-tying four by graduate forward Lök Wur, and came within one of the season high for steals with 14, led by a career high-tying five by sophomore guard Makaih Williams. For the fourth time in the past five games, a Lopes opponent shot less than 40% with Abilene Christian hitting just 31.6% from the field.

The Lopes unleashed a full-court press that unraveled and sped up the reckless Wildcats, who went 0 for 12 with seven turnovers during their 10-minute stretch without a field goal early in the game.

"We really locked in this week and worked on it more." Drew said. "I thought the guys really executed. It gave us some energy when we could get a couple turnovers. The crowd helped out, really getting behind it."

Phoenix, AZ Jan. 16, 2025 : The Lopes dominate ACU with a 88-58 win at Global Credit Union Arena. David Kadlubowski / GCU

The Lopes scored 14 unanswered points for a 14-3 lead when Abilene Christian was going without a made field goal. GCU junior center Duke Brennan spurred that separation with two-way play that led to his third double-double of the season.

Brennan, who finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds, thrived in pick-and-roll action to score seven of GCU's first nine points. He also led the defensive effort that kept Abilene Christian leading scorer Leonardo Bettiol without a made field goal in the game.

Brennan was the Lopes' high scorer with 5-for-5 shooting from the field while graduate swingman Tyon Grant-Foster, who returned to a reserve role, tallied a line of 13 points, six rebounds, three steals and a blocked shot.

"We really turned up our intensity on defense," Brennan said. "That's been a key that we've been going over for the last seven days in practice. We were embarrassed by the loss at Utah Valley (last Thursday), and we came into this next week, and our coach gave it to us in practice."

Like its coach in the preceding days, GCU showed no let-up Thursday night.

The Lopes pulled farther away from Abilene Christian with a 50-point second half that highlight dunks made even more entertaining. Sophomore guard Caleb Show drove for a posterizing slam. Brennan made a steal and dribbled half the court for a breakaway slam. And the Lopes debut of senior forward Traivar Jackson, who remains eligible next season, showed his bounce with an alleyoop dunk on a near-midcourt pass from Williams, who delivered 11 points and five assists in a start.

Phoenix, AZ Jan. 16, 2025 : The Lopes dominate ACU with a 88-58 win at Global Credit Union Arena. David Kadlubowski / GCU

"We didn't practice hard every day for no reason," Williams said. "We came out here to show what we really play like, but we should have played like that all season. We've just got to keep it up."

GCU senior guard Ray Harrison, who also threw an alleyoop pass to Grant-Foster, scored 14 points and graduate power forward JaKobe Coles' 10 points completed the quintet of double-digit scorers. The Lopes delivered 17 assists, their second-highest total against a Division I opponent this season.

"We've been practicing and waiting to see it translating into the game, and we saw there were a couple of great passes," Drew said. "We had a great transition where the ball moved player to player, then to Tyon for the dunk. And guys had their eyes up and they were making good quick decisions."

Coming off last week's loss at Utah Valley (now 4-0 in conference play), Drew said the week placed an emphasis on accountability and passionate play. The Lopes answered the call, leading 20-5 through the first 12 minutes of play.

Phoenix, AZ Jan. 16, 2025 : The Lopes dominate ACU with a 88-58 win at Global Credit Union Arena. David Kadlubowski / GCU

"It's a daily habit," Drew said of emphasizing "The Program" this week. "It's habits that you build. It's not just here when you're at GCU, but it's the hours that you're away from GCU and what you're doing. It's a mentality. It's a different era of college basketball, just with things that are going on, and we've got to find a way to keep guys locked in, keep guys focused and remove distractions. We're going to make strides in that and try to figure this thing out. But tonight, I thought the guys were locked in, they were focused, and they played with the urgency that's needed."

Grant-Foster came off the bench for the fourth time in his 12 appearances and entered with energy less than four minutes into the game. He ripped rebounds, moved the ball well and was getting steals or causing turnovers by disrupting passing lanes. Grant-Foster tallied six rebounds, three steals and a blocked shot with his 5-for-8 shooting to be a plus-26 in 24 minutes. Wur was plus-27 in 22 minutes.

"We did a whole lot of good things," Grant-Foster said. "We were the aggressors instead of letting the other team be the aggressors I feel like that was a huge step in the right direction."

GCU remains home to play Tarleton State in another conference game at 6 p.m. Saturday. The Texans, who finished one game behind the WAC champion Lopes last season, are 3-1 in conference play after defeating California Baptist 67-57 at home Thursday night. Tarleton State's top player, Freddy Hicks, made his season debut with 15 points in 20 minutes off the bench.